Know your audience – a key to a profitable publishing business

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The theme of the Dubai conference was to address the opportunities and challenges faced by the Middle East publishing business, as seen through the eyes of the worldwide publishing community.  New ideas, global standards and best practice could thus be encouraged, and the region’s development accelerated.

There is relatively little readership research in most Middle Eastern countries, but it is important for publishers to know their audiences. This presentation proposed, as a basic guide, the main types of information to collect about a publication’s readers in order to attract advertising revenue. The points were illustrated through examples taken from research in the UK and other countries.

The principal areas covered were:

• How many readers
• What they are like
• How they use the publication
• Their close relationship with the publication
• Their involvement with the advertisements
• The actions they take
• Print ads sell products, generate high return on investment
• How their exposure to print ads enhances the advertising in other media